Caydan of Solok
' Age: '''24 (Birth Date: 18th of Amber's Fall, 1194) Affiliations: Caydan served with the Bastion Army for seven and a half years, and even though he hasn’t held a rank within the army for just under half a year he still considers himself a soldier. In contrast, he was knighted slightly longer than half a year ago, but doesn’t really consider himself a noble despite now being a member of the nobility. Appearance: Caydan is a large man, taller than most, but rather than appearing as a big brute he falls into the gentle giant stereotype quite well with his cheerful, boyish features. He keeps his dark mahogeny hair cropped short and he maintains a clean-shaved face - which makes his boyish looks even more apparent, and with his dark, soulful amber eyes it frequently causes him to be mistaken for a boy instead of a man. Despite his deceptively youthful appearances his body is anything but child-like. His body is thick with muscle he has worked hard to achieve through exercise, both on and off the battlefield. Though he served with the military he hasn’t kept the heavy armour or the uniform of his regiment, and instead he wears a light breastplate, when appropriate, over fairly common, but fashionable, clothes. Personality: Caydan is a simple man who thinks in quite simple terms. He’s an idealist who wants to believe in other people despite how often people don’t live up to his standards. He approaches this need with boundless energy and curiosity that is, at best, daunting and, at worst, unbearable. Despite his exuberance he feels cut off since leaving the army and has become quite shy since his knighthood. However, Caydan, like everybody, has a darker side to him. He’s prone to fits of silence when he’s alone with his thoughts as his mind works on issues and problems he’s ordinarily too preoccupied to think about. He puts on a smile during those times for anybody for interrupts him and will lie vigorously to convince them he’s fine. In those rare moments though, when he puts on a brave face for the world, he is at his most vulnerable to a well of anger that, if he’s pushed, will rush up and out before he can force it back down. History: Caydan’s childhood home was Solok in Matera, one of the Free Realms ruled by the Kingdom of Bastion. He lived there with his mother Pasara who remained tight-lipped about his absent father. Despite an absent father Caydan had a happy childhood, but as he freely admits he probably would have had a happy childhood wherever he lived as that just seems to be his character. The one thing that marred it was a rise in crime in Matera over the years as Caydan grew up. The roads were clogged with bandits, the villages were often strong-armed, and even the towns and cities saw a rise in crime. Appalled by the rise in lawlessness Caydan joined the Bastion Army where he was put to work first as a drummer and then later, as his development finished and he reached his impressive height, he was put to work as a pikeman. Even as a drummer Caydan was considered by the men of his regiment to be the heart of his platoon, and as a soldier he was promoted to captain of his own company over eight years. It was after his promotion to captain that he distinguished himself at the Battle of Brookhaven against a suspiciously well-armed and well-trained band of criminals intent on sacking the city -- it was during the battle that he discovered an unapplied talent for magical healing he has since dedicated time and effort to mastering through the spirit of humility that he attracted with his deeds that day. For his deeds at the battle he was given a knighthood by the king as well Invereil House in the Noble District of the capitol. Invereil House was originally built outside Bastion as the heart of its first major apiary but over time and as the city grew Invereil House was absorbed by the expanding border of the city. Most of the Invereil bees were relocated around a new stately home, but the house still retained a small apiary out of respect for the home’s long history with beekeeping. Despite the fact that Invereil House hasn’t been the centre of a major apiary for longer than most people can remember the honey its small apiary produces every year has become a point of pride for the owners -- it has even become tradition for a small tasting party to be held once a year and is something that Caydan dreads. It was after this that Caydan made the unpopular choice of retiring from military service to concentrate on matters in Bastion itself -- rumour is that he was approached by members of the nobility who were concerned about the safety of the city, but Caydan denies it and as most people point out Caydan is honest almost to a fault. As part of this he briefly returned home to a very angry mother who berated him for leaving without telling her, and then berated him for joining the Bastion Army without telling her. She was somewhat dumbfounded by his knighthood, but agreed to come to Bastion to live in his home where he could care for her as it only seemed fitting ‘for all the worry he caused her’. His return to Bastion wasn’t at all peaceful though as only days afterward the Waterfront Siege began. Driven by duty and the need to make Bastion a safe place for his mother he dove into the conflict, and although he wasn’t one of the heroes of the day he still carries his own marks of distinction as scars on his body -- it was during the conflict he met and befriended Lady Elizabeth Falaeth as he tended people with his quietly developing holy healing. It was some months after Caydan and his mother settled down in Bastion that she brought up the subject of his father. Caydan’s father was a nobleman who had passed through Solok on his way somewhere else, and she had simply been caught up in his youthful whirlwind. Caydan then immediately attempted to confront his father but he didn’t get very far before he was stopped. Since then he’s taken a great interest in his father and in getting him to acknowledge that fact even if it’s just to himself -- even going as far as attending the high society events he had so far avoided which, to his surprise, got him quickly acquainted with the future Mr. and Mrs. Crowley when Setselia introduced herself and Luke. As the months passed his friendship with the pair have grown and he even attended their wedding, but while he considers his lack of progress a fine trade for the new friends he’s found he can’t help but feel he might have accomplished more progress otherwise. Advantages: Personal: *Allure II 1 - Low Social. *Tough I 3 - Common Resistance (Physical). *Charisma II 6 - High Social. *Strong I 2 - Close Range, Low Utility. *Agility I 5 - All Ranges, Mid Utility. *Soldier II 10 - All Ranges, Mid Utility. *Holy Magic I 6 - High Utility, Common Resistance (Physical). *Nobility I 1 - Low Social. *Wealth I 1 - Low Social. ''Location: *Apiary I 1 - Low Social. *Luxury I 1 - Low Social. Common Bonuses: Short Range +6, Mid Range +5, Long Range +5, Social +2 (Allure +2, Nobility +1, Wealth +1, Invereil House Apiary +1, Invereil House +1), Athletics +3 (Lifting & Climbing +1).